200810072152 | Rwanda appoints female Speaker

Rwanda appoints female Speaker

Kigali - Rwanda's Parliament, the first in the world with a female majority, voted a woman legislator as Speaker on Monday. The appointment of Mukantabana Rose will enhance the east African nation's reputation as a bastion of women's empowerment in a continent where men normally dominate the power-circles.

Women hold 44 of 80 seats, making it the first country in the world where men are outnumbered in Parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Rose, from a small opposition party, beat a male candidate for Speaker, Mukama Abbas, by 70 votes to 10.

"I confirm that Mukantabana Rose is the Speaker of this Parliament of the Republic of Rwanda" said President Paul Kagame in the legislature.

Women cheered and chanted after the vote. Thirty percent of the seats in Rwanda's Parliament are reserved for women.
According to the IPU, Sweden comes after Rwanda with 47% of Parliamentary seats occupied by women.

Cuba is third with 43.2%.